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Create a Nonreplicated Virtual Disk for Paging File Storage
You can avoid replication of a virtual machine's Windows paging file by creating a virtual disk on a
nonreplicated datastore, configuring Windows to create its paging file on that disk, and configuring a
nonreplicated copy of that disk at the recovery site.
In the default configuration, Windows creates its paging file on the system disk (typically C:). Paging files
created on this disk are always replicated when the virtual machine uses a replicated datastore. You can
configure any virtual machine to use a virtual disk on a nonreplicated datastore for its paging file. SRM detects
that the virtual machine depends on a nonreplicated virtual disk (the paging file disk) and removes that virtual
machine from its protection group until you make a copy of that virtual disk file at the recovery site for the
recovered virtual machine to use.
NOTE To simplify creating a nonreplicated virtual disk for every virtual machine in a protection group, you
can create a virtual disk file template and then clone it.
Procedure
1 At the protected site, select a nonessential virtual machine (one that you can power off during this
procedure) or create a temporary virtual machine for this purpose.
Because of differences in the NTFS file system among Windows releases, you must perform this procedure
for each version of Windows that the protection group includes.
2 Power off the selected virtual machine and add a new disk to it.
Create the disk file on a nonreplicated datastore at the protected site in a location where you typically
store virtual machine templates. This disk becomes the template for all nonreplicated paging file disks.
Create it with adequate capacity for a typical Windows paging file.
3 Power on the selected virtual machine and then create and format a partition on the new disk.
4 Configure the virtual machine to create its paging file on the new disk.
5 Power off the virtual machine and disconnect the new disk from it.
You can clone this disk to provide nonreplicated paging file storage for the other virtual machines.
6 To make the template available for cloning at the recovery site, copy it to a folder in a nonreplicated
datastore at the recovery site.
You must copy the .vmdk file and its flat counterpart (for example, pagedisk.vmdk and pagedisk-
flat.vmdk).
7 At the recovery site, use the vmkfstools command to create a clone of the copied disk.
Create one clone for every placeholder virtual machine, but do not attach any clones to a virtual machine.
The clones are assigned as part of the protection configuration process and are attached during recovery.
8 At the protected site, configure each protected virtual machine.
a Use the vmkfstools command to clone the disk.
Create the clone on a nonreplicated datastore at the protected site, and then copy it to a nonreplicated
datastore at the recovery site with the original .vmdk file.
b Connect the cloned disk to the virtual machine, and then power on the virtual machine and assign a
drive to the cloned disk.
c Configure the virtual machine to create its paging file on the cloned disk.
Chapter 5 Customizing Site Recovery Manager
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